The umbilical cord is a rope-like structure which connects the fetus to the placenta. The cord contains two arteries and one vein. The arteries carry blood containing waste products from the fetus to the placenta. The vein carries blood containing oxygen and food substances obtained from the mother's blood back to the fetus.
At the present time, the procedure followed by many obstetricians following the delivery of the baby, is to clamp two separate hemostats on the umbilical cord at spaced positions and use a pair of scissors to sever the umbilical cord. Subsequently an umbilical cord clamp is manually applied to the cord adjacent the baby's navel and a second cutting of the redundant portion of the cord between the clamp and the hemostat is performed.
In recent years various umbilical cord clamping assemblies have been designed to improve and expedite the process of severing the umbilical cord and properly clamping it. An example is in U.S. Pat. No. 3,150,666, which shows an instrument for clamping one end of the umbilical cord and then applying an elastic band around the cord. Another instrument, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,166,071, provides means for simultaneously applying two spaced-apart umbilical cord clamps and severing the umbilical cord therebetween. Likewise, U.S. Pat. No. 4,428,374 shows an umbilical cord clamping assembly for simultaneously applying a pair of spaced-apart umbilical clamps, connected by a connecting member. As the clamping tool applies the clamps, it severs both the cord and the connecting member between the clamps.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,026,294 presents another example of a clamping and cutting surgical instrument wherein two umbilical clamps are applied to the cord after which the cord is severed. U.S. Pat. No. 3,631,858 shows another simultaneously clamping and severing device including clamping jaws and cutting jaws held together in side-by-side relationship by a web. As the cord is severed and clamped, the web is also severed so that the cutting jaws can be removed while the clamp remains on the cord.
Prior art surgical instruments for clamping and severing an umbilical cord have not gained widespread acceptance. Unfortunately, the few seconds wasted by present procedures for severing and clamping the umbilical cord may be the difference between a routine birth or one complicated by serious lung problems in the infant.
It is thus an object of the invention to provide a novel surgical instrument for clamping and severing an umbilical cord, the parts of which are easily manufactured and assembled.
It is also an object of the invention to provide a novel surgical instrument for clamping and severing an umbilical cord that will simplify and speed up the operation.
It is another object of the invention to provide a novel surgical instrument for clamping and severing an umbilical cord wherein the instrument applies a single umbilical cord clamp, severs the umbilical cord, and maintains a hemostat on the maternal end of the cord.
It is still another object of the invention to provide a novel surgical instrument for clamping and severing an umbilical cord wherein the umbilical cord clamp is detached from the instrument without opening its clamping jaws.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a novel surgical instrument for clamping and severing an umbilical cord which includes a single-use, disposable blade assembly.
It is still another object of this invention to provide an umbilical cord clamp which can be readily detached from the umbilical cord portion attached to the infant without the need for severing the clamp at its hinge portion.